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Oil up dipstick tube

Fred85

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Orange, VA
Not sure what's going on here, the last few times (within 2 weeks) that i've tried to check my oil, oil is all up the inside of the check tube. I'll pull the dipstick, wipe it off, stick it back in to check, but the dipstick will pick up oil thats all over the inside of the tube.........so i can't by any means get an accurate reading

Doesn't matter if the motor is cold, warm, or up to operating temp. The crankcase isn't overfilled either, because prior to this i could check the level and it was right where it should be on the stick......
 
do you also have a bunch of oil in the airfilter?
Sounds like some bad blowby to me.
This is of course assuming you've got a 4.0. Please remember that we need your year, engine and other pertinent info.
 
Blowby is the answer. You may even have oil in the bottom of your distributor. Clean out the breather hoses and possibly the valve cover.
 
Wouldn't a bad PCV valve cause this?
 
dammit i always forget the year, 2001 4.0 of course

i just checked it again like 5 mins ago, not nearly as bad as yesterday but still a little on there. I could actually read it this time, seems the oil is right at the "full" level...but this is when the engine is completely cold. So maybe i have a little too much oil in there......6 qts on last oil change though (need to change again in line 500 miles)

no blowby that i could detect, air filter is completely clean, airbox is clean, CCV vent hose that goes to airbox is clean from what i could see

maybe i actually do have a little too much oil in there??
 
I dont think thats it, It should take a full 6qt if you changed the filter and the level doesn't change much hot/cold.
 
You're supposed to check engine oil when the engine is cold, hot will give you false information. And by the way, the level of oil on the dipstick changes quite a bit from full cold to full hot.

Were you on level ground when you were trying to check the oil the first time?
 
Just for fun, start the motor and put a piece of paper over the oil fill hole (with no cap on, obviously)

there should be a slight vacuum there.
 
Also just for fun - next time you change the oil, blow the dipstick tube out with carburettor cleaner, and then drain.

If you've got some "splash" going up there - or a blowby problem - cleaning it out will help to figure it out (if it happens again.) Take the rest of the can, pull the CCV lines from the valve cover, and blow the valve cover baffles out as well - since that's usually the "crux of the biscuit."

I shouldn't think you'd need to replace five-year-old lines, but I may be wrong. However, those two things are the first that I'd do, if it were mine.

5-90
 
It's easy to remove the dipstick tube for cleaning ... just undo one nut, and you can pull it right out of the block. When you reinstall it, use a little bit of silicone sealer at the junction to seal it against oil leaks.
 
Not to hijack, but maybe I am... Ive changed rear hose and 1/4 turn adapter... My pressure is much better now, but still runs over 80 if Im over 2K RPM on the highway.

Would a 1/2 can of Seafoam in the crank for 3 daze then change oil do aything to help, or make the the blowby problem worse?? Not the intake method, but in the crank to be clear.

Thanks..
Andrew
 
I just bought a 2000 XJ about two weeks ago.
4.0l 56K mi.

I changed the oil right away and also noticed the same thing on the dipstick.

However, I noticed that it was only showing high on one side.

If I would turn it 180degrees, then it would show correctly.
 
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